Valhalla
by Grav
Summary: Sam had been practicing this conversation on and off for fifty years.  Post ep for Unending, SamJack


AN: For the Sam/Jack Ficathon on livejournal, I was given Annerb, who requested a Season 9 or 10 post-ep/missing scene. Thanks to sabaceanbabe for the beta.

Spoilers: Unending

Rating: Kid Friendly

Disclaimer: The fact that Unending exists at all is pretty much evidence that I have no ownership of anything connected with this show.

Summary: Sam had been practicing this conversation on and off for almost fifty years.

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**Valhalla**

Sam had been practicing this conversation on and off for almost fifty years. Sometimes, when the cello put her mind at ease and impossible equations stopped whirling through her brain and she was on the edge of sleep, she would remember that someday she would be the one to tell him what had happened, and then the whole ship would start spinning again.

When she finally figured it out (or so Teal'c told her) and time set itself right again, her practice sessions were gone. She couldn't remember what she had decided to tell him, or even that she'd tried to figure something out. The rational part of her brain told her that if she hadn't figured it out in fifty years, she was unlikely to figure it out at all, and by the time they were finished debriefing General Landry, she had come to agree with herself.

Jack had kept his house in Colorado Springs, choosing to let the air force put him up in quarters while he was in Washington. The house had become almost as much a getaway as his cabin and Jack returned to it as often as possible. When Sam pulled up, the lights were out, but she knew he was there.

She walked around into his back yard and found the ladder leaning up against the wall waiting for her. Hand over hand, she climbed up and saw him, eyes to the stars, standing in the corner by his telescope.

"You know," he said without turning around, "some people might consider this trespassing."

"You gave me a key, Jack," she replied, emphasizing her use of his name. "I kind of thought that included an open invitation."

"That was the idea."

"So how is this trespassing?"

"Do I walk into your lab uninvited."

"Yes."

"Right." He seemed to consider this as he fiddled with the dials and refocused on another star. "So I guess I'll let you get away with it, then."

She laughed and walked over to the little fridge Jack kept on the roof. It was run by a generator and it was never terribly cold, but he only ever used it for beer. She took a bottle from the fridge and went over to join him by the telescope.

"How much did they tell you about our last mission?" she asked.

"Something about you making a time bubble and then I stopped paying attention," he replied. "You know I don't get those things. I prefer to wait for the debrief after all the problems have been solved."

"Did you read the brief at all?"

"Something about the Asgard giving us technology. It reminded me of the Tollan and made me nervous."

"Yeah" Sam took a deep breath "They're gone, Jack."

"I know that, Sam," he replied quickly. "Anubis got them years ago."

"No, not the Tollan, Jack," Sam corrected gently. "The Asgard."

Jack finally looked up from the telescope, his face stricken. She handed him the beer and he took a pull.

"How?" he finally asked.

"They were dying" Sam's voice was far away. "They had made too many alterations to their genetics and their bodies could no longer support them. They gave us everything they had, and then they destroyed themselves so that the Ori couldn't steal any of their technology."

"All the Asgard? Even the ones that lived in those little science stations?"

"They were all recalled." Sam took the bottle back and took a drink herself. "Amnesty granted to all Asgard, regardless of their scientific history, and they died together when Orilla exploded."

"If I'd know that, I wouldn't have stayed home to oversee the last development stages of the new X303," Jack said darkly. "I made first contact with these people after all. They stopped the Ancient device from taking over my brain, for crying out loud. I should have been there when they died."

"I know, Jack." Sam looked up at the stars. "They didn't tell us until the last minute and then Thor wouldn't let us try to help him. He said they were finished, that they'd made too many mistakes to be corrected and that they hoped we wouldn't follow in their footsteps."

"We'll be lucky to follow in anyone's footsteps!" Jack exploded. "We're down a very powerful ally, and it's not like we can use any of the stuff they gave us!"

"I have almost fifty people working on that, Jack." Sam said sharply. Jack turned back to the telescope. "We'll find a way."

"Did Thor…say anything?" Jack asked in a quiet voice. "A message for me, I mean."

"He said not to give up. That we would find the answer somewhere."

"That's specific," Jack said. "I meant to me, specifically."

"Not…really. It all happened really quickly. No one got a good-bye. One minute they were there and the next, the planet exploded."

"I wish I'd come with you."

"I can only imagine how crazy you would have gone, trapped in that time dilation for fifty years." Sam grinned for the first time since she'd climbed the ladder. He turned and flashed her a quick smile. "Three months in that loop nearly killed you."

"Oh, I don't know," Jack disagreed in a light, mocking tone. "I heard your replicator was really good. I am sure I could have kept myself amused."

"I'm sorry that I can't tell you that I missed you while I was growing old." Sam slipped her non-beer holding hand into his. "Teal'c won't tell us anything, though he keeps making jokes about cellos."

"I'm sure you pined hopelessly," Jack said gallantly, squeezing her hand. "That's probably why it took you fifty years to figure everything out."

"I – that was a – You are impossible," Sam spluttered.

Jack laughed and turned again to the telescope. He angled it carefully, and Sam knew without needing a closer examination that he was looking at the Asgard home galaxy.

"Will the light from the explosion ever reach Earth?" he asked finally.

"Not for a really long time," she replied. "And even then the light will be obscured by the rest of the galaxy. It's just too small, cosmically speaking, for us to see it."

"All that and they're gone without a trace."

"They left a trace, Jack."

He pulled her into his arms and they looked up at the sky together. They'd walked on so many planets and seen so many things and lost so many good people and at the end of the day, Earth was small and Colorado was even smaller.

Two weeks later, the _Valhalla_ left on her maiden voyage, flying between Earth and Abydos for a shakedown cruise. General Jack O'Neill sat in the command chair and decided that even though his names for ships were always rejected, he didn't mind this one quite so much.

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**finis**

AN: Yes, I know Jack said he sold the house. I needed it. I cite Rodney Ingram "Meredith" McKay as license to play around with canon. :)

GravityNotIncluded, August 7, 2007


End file.
